Swinging stage or scaffolding



SepL4, 1962 M. E. JONES 3,052,315

swmcmc; STAGE OR SCAFFOLDING Filed Nov. 25. 1957 FIG. I

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fi n E El United States Patent Ofilice 3,6523% Patented Sept. 4, 1962 3,052,315 SWINGING STAGE R SCAFFOLDING Mert Elmer Jones, 4904 Bromley Lane, Richmond 26, Va. Filed Nov. 25, 1957, Ser. No. 698,763 1 Claim. (Cl. 182150) This invention relates to an improvement in swinging stage and ground supported scaffolding, and more especially to construction uses of the type that is adaptable for outside worksuch as painting, siding of all types, repairs, sheet work, and sign lettering.

This invention is also concerned with the problem of conserving time and providing safer working conditions. It is easily adjustable for any desired length or depth and provides a means whereby the staging or scaffolding may be stored, handled, and assembled more easily and is preferably made of aluminum or other light weight metals having the desired properties.

It is a principal object of this invention to provide a staging or scaffolding utilizing platforms, with ladder, hooks, and attachments thereto, so constructed that a crew of men may work above and below one another and so formed and constructed that while working on one side of a building, said team of workers may work around a corner of said building without getting down from the scafloldingthereby saving time, less loss of labor, and minimizing possible accidents.

It is a further object of this invention to provide a simple, easy to assemble staging which will eliminate any added weight provided by the conventional type of scaffolding-such as braces, brackets, additional rungs in ladders, and other unnecessary supports.

It is a further object of the invention to provide staging and scaffolding which has all of these desired properties, is adaptable to a wide variety of uses, and can be manufactured at a reasonable cost.

A further object of this invention is to overcome the objections heretofore encountered in staging or scaffolding and to simplify and improve the construction thereof.

A still further object of this invention is to provide a maximum lightness of weight to withstand the load and strain thereon.

To these ends and also to improve generally upon devices and methods of this character, this invention consists in the various matters hereinafter described and claimed. In its broader aspects, the invention is not necessarily limited to the specific arrangements selected for illustration purposes in the accompanying drawings. Various further features of novelty and invention will become apparent or will occur to those skilled in the art from a reading of the following specification in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, which, for illustrative purposes only, show preferred forms of the invention:

FIGURE 1 is a view illustrating one use of the adaptation of the invention, showing the apparatus assembled and erected for use;

FIGURE 2 is a detail of the rung, showing additional features of the invention as more fully described hereinafter;

FIGURE 3 is a view of the details of the bumper shown in FIGURE 1;

FIGURE 4 is a detail view of the construction of a rail of the apparatus used when going around a corner of a building; and

FIGURE 5 is a view, showing additional adaptations of the invention.

This is an invention in staging or scaffolding of the type used in construction work and other installations. It is adapted especially for working on cornices, gables, windows, bricks, weather boarding and siding, and stucco,

and is subjected to severe conditions of use-such as are encountered in such construction work.

Various attempts have been made heretofore to provide adequate staging or scaffolding construction which is light in weight, sturdy and strong, weather resisting, requiring less repairs, and is easily assembled and dismantled. However, such attempts have not been entirely satisfactory until this discovery. They have been expensive to build; and if made sufficiently sturdy to withstand the strain and conditions of use, they not only have been heavier than necessary but also too expensive and awkward.

Referring now more specifically to the drawing, the swinging stage or scaffolding unit 1, here illustrated in FIGURE 1, includes two or more identical ladderlike members 2 which may vary in length according to the specific need. Each ladder member 2 is comprised of rails 4 provided with square apertures 12 having evenly spaced centers, bolts or rungs 5 passing through said apertures and provided with a square flange 11 at the head end 10 of the rung which extends the depth of two ladder rails placed in side by side relation to provide the connection of another rail as shown in FIGURE 2 and to fit into aperture 12 of the rail 4, a round threaded portion 9 extending from the square flange portion 11 of equal diameter as the width of said square flange 11 and extending through the aperture of the other rail, the head 10 on the square end of the rung bolt is greater than the square aperture of the rail of the ladder; a sleeve or spacer 6 with an opening as big as the threaded portion 9 positioned on the inside of the ladder rails on the round portion of the rung thereby controlling the distance between the ladder rails, said sleeve abutting the flange 11 of the rung and the rail 4 when in position (only two sleeves need to be placed on the rung of the ladder, as the purpose of the sleeve is to keep the ladder rails spaced apart when the scafiolding structure is in use and when assembling the scaffolding structure before the platform is in place when making the scaffold ready for use, said sleeve being placed on any desired rung but preferably one at the top portion of the ladder; the other, at the lower portion of the ladder), wing nut means 8 on the threaded end of the bolt on the outside of the ladder rail to tighten or loosen the rung.

Only two rungs are used for the platform on each ladder to provide means whereby a platform 3 may be attached. The rungs are used one over the other in each ladder so that when one platform is in use, one end of another may he placed on the rung of the same ladder and attached to another ladder rung of another ladder, thereby extending the length of the scaffolding unit and provid ing means whereby the platforms will not tilt up when a workman is working at one end.

At the top of each ladder structure is a steel rung 21 of the same construction as the other rungs except that the head end is threaded and provided with a wing nut and an eyelet or loop means 22 is welded to the rung to provide a means whereby the hook at one end of the holding means may be inserted to hold the apparatus in position when swung from a cornice, and provided with two wing nuts 8 for holding said steel rung in place on the threaded end of the rung-one on the outside and one on the inside of one of the ladder rails-so that a rigid and varying connection may be made.

The platform 3 is constructed of sheet aluminum provided with uniformed spaced notches 14 on the underside of each projecting side to receive the rungs of the ladder and so that the ladders may be moved any desired length apart according to the distance of the spaced notches, weeping holes in the surface area of the platform so that fluid matter may escape from the platform and to provide means whereby the platform may be raised or lowered into position, a crosshatched surface on the platform to prevent slipping and also as a safety precaution to provide a channel for liquids to run into and prevent anyone from slipping on the platform; said platform may be made any length, width, or size. Also, the width between the side pieces of the platform provided with the notch 14 are slightly smaller than the distance between the rungs of the ladder in order for the platform to be set in place between the rung.

Bumper means 13 comprising a ladder rung with a completely threaded shaft and which is attached to the inside rail of the ladders by a pair of wing nuts as shown in FIGURE 3, and projecting toward the building so that it may rest upon the face of the building thereby providing a stabilizing means for the apparatus.

Hold-ing means having a large steel hook as used to hang scaffolding means from the cornice of buildings and to support the same and also of the type used with a skid (by skid I mean an oak beam 16 feet long and 4 inches square having an eyelet at one end and which is used on the outside Walls of a building having a flat 2 roof, said walls may extend above the roof in many instances where hooks could not be used for fear of the wall breaking or bricks pulling loose, or Where damage to the roof may occur, The skid is then used in these instances by extending the skid about 1 foot to 2 feet beyond the outside wall of the building and attaching the steel hook or cable on the eyelet. By using a skid, the entire weight of the scaffold pulls down on the roof rather than on the wall), cable or chain means attached to said steel hook and extending therefrom to also connect to a support hook which engages the loop 22 on the steel rung 21 of the ladder.

A safety rope may be attached to the outside rail of each ladder to provide the workmen with assured support while working at high heights.

The above described scaffolding means may be positioned in tiers 30, one above the other as shown in FIG- URE 5, and a rail 17 of right angle construction, as shown in FIGURE 4 is used to provide means whereby the scaffolding may be used on corners so that workmen may get around the other side of the building without moving the apparatus. By using the right angle rail 17 on the inside, two singular ladder rails 4 at right angles to each other are used on the outside of the right angle rail. These outside ladder rails 4 with connecting rungs 5 connecting said right angle rail 17 to them comprise the ladder used for getting around corners and on the other side of the building.

The right angle rail as shown in FIGURE 4 comprises square apertures with evenly spaced center as the rails 4 as illustrated in FIGURE 1. The outside rails 4 are connected to the angle rail 17 by rungs and said structure is provided with the same elements as has been described above. The platform is then placed upon the ladder rungs in the same fashion and manner as stated above.

Two or more ladders may be used for wider platform area when needed and said structures may be used both inside and outside.

Also, various length rungs and related platforms would be used, depending on varying needs and situations encountered.

All illustrated and described structure is of aluminum except where steel is specified.

It will be understood that this invention as described in detail is susceptible to modification in order to adapt it to different usages and conditions, and, accordingly, it is desired to comprehend such modifications within this invention as may fall within the scope of the appended claim.

What is claimed is:

In a scaffolding structure, the combination of two end ladder units and an intermediate ladder unit, each end ladder unit comprising spaced opposed rails, square apertures in uniformly spaced relation in each of said rails, said square apertures in each of said rails being aligned with the apertures of its corresponding opposed rail, rungs passing through said apertures, said rungs comprising a square flange portion whose length extends the thickness of two ladder rails, a round portion extending from said square flange of said rung and being of a diameter equal to the width of said square flange, with a threaded portion on its end, a head on said square flange greater than said rail apertures, a spacer sleeve on the round portion of said rungs extending between said spaced opposed rails, a wing nut securing means cooperating with said rung threaded portion, a top rung having a loop thereon, said loop providing support means for said ladder unit when the same is suspended, said top rung further comprising threaded end portions, wing nut securing means cooperating with said threaded end portions, a bumper comprising a threaded shaft portion and a head on one end thereof, wing nut securing means cooperating with said threaded shaft portion for mounting said bumper to one of said spaced opposed rails, an intermediate ladder unit comprising a right angle rail having two outward extending sides and two spaced rails opposite said outward extending sides, square apertures in uniformly spaced relation in each of said three rails, said square apertures in each of said two spaced rails being aligned with the apertures 0f the corresponding outward extending sides of the right angle rail which it opposes, rungs passing through said apertures, said rungs comprising a square flange portion whose length extends the thickness of two ladder rails, a round portion extending from said square flange of said rung and being of a diameter equal to the width of said square flange, with a threaded portion on its end, a head on said square flange greater than said rail apertures, a spacer sleeve on the round portion of said rungs extending between said right angle rail outward extending sides and said two spaced rails opposite said outward extending sides, a wing nut securing means cooperating with said rungs threaded portion, a top rung having a loop thereon, said loop providing support means for said additional ladder unit when the same is suspended, said top rung further comprising threaded end portions, wing nut securing means cooperating with said threaded end portions, a bumper comprising a threaded shaft portion and a head on one end thereof, wing nut securing means cooperating with said threaded shaft portion for mounting said bumper to said right angle rail, a notched platform engaging a rung on one of said end ladder units and a rung on one of the sides of the right angle rail of the intermediate ladder unit, and an additional notched platform engaging a rung on the other of said end ladder units and a rung on the other side of the right angle rail of the intermediate ladder unit.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS 506,561 Smith Oct. 10, 1893 529,791 Herman Nov. 27, 1894 607,323 Anderson July 12, 1898 727,028 Thomas May 5, 1903 743,640 Harmon Nov. 10, 1903 788,171 SchWerin Apr. 25, 1905 1,285,520 Whyte Nov. 19, 1918 1,580,744 Lyon et al. Apr. 13, 1926 1,721,670 Rickard July 23, 1929 1,722,534 Monjar et al July 30, 1929 2,180,502 Bonsall Nov. 21, 1939 2,249,658 Kemner July 15, 1941 2,415,180 John Feb. 4, 1947 2,416,950 P'ohrman Mar. 4, 1947 FOREIGN PATENTS 405,326 Great Britain Feb. 5, 1934 

